June 27, 2024 • 31 mins
Kehlani On Her Daughter Being On Her Album, Palestine, Jealous Type? + More
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
What's up? Its way up for Angela.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
He and you know, I'm excited because Kailani is here
with me today, a fresh off putting out a brand
new album that everybody's talking about Crash.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
So first of all, congratulations.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Thank you, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
How are you feeling.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
I'm good. I'm happy to be here. I did a
really cool signing yesterday and it was like probably the
craziest turnout of my career in New York. Yeah, it
was crazy. It was super crazy.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
I saw people saying, you don't even have to buy anything,
She's gonna sign for you, because you know, sometimes you
go to signings and like, okay, we got to push
these sales. You gotta buy this, you gotta buy this,
you know, merchant, you gotta buy the album.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
And then but you were signing everything for everybody.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Yeah, and also people can just come hang out and
take pictures. I feel like it's always been my thing
for me to be fan focused. That's the most important
thing for me, honestly. Like the sales are cool, charts
are cool, that's all all right, But for me, it's
getting to see my impact in person and getting to
like exchange the energy with people. Who feel like I've
done thing for them.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
So I think people are very connected to you because
of the things that you talk about in your music.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
It's very honest.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
But this album, by the way, and I've seen you
talk about it, and it's called Crash, and I know
there has to be a reason for it because it.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Feels like a lot of things.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
It's a lot going on there.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Let's talk about it, cra you know.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
I actually realized after watching interviews that I did before
the album came out that I was trying so hard
not to spoil anything that I feel like I didn't
explain it properly. But to me, it's just who I
am emotionally, It's who I am as a person. I
am all over the place, I am chaotic. I do
have a bunch of different emotions going on. I have
highs and lows and ups and downs, and it was
(01:41):
important for me to just stand in that and embrace that.
And also, to me, this was my pivotal moment where
I got to show like you couldn't put me in
a box musically, and I feel like I just kept
getting people wanting me to make two albums Ago again
or my first mixtape again, and just be stuck in
this like same sign, you know situation. But if I
(02:02):
wanted to be able to grow as an artist, I
had to make something that was polarizing and some people
really hate it and some people really love it, and
I think that's exactly what I wanted to accomplid.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Some people will say I like certain songs on.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Here, yeah, yeah, and they may not like everything, but
I'm excited to see how tour is gonna go. You know.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
It kind of reminds me of I'm gonna say, like
iHeart Festival. When we do that.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
It's a lot of different genres coming together in one space.
But I appreciate and enjoy that because sometimes it makes
you listen to things that maybe you wouldn't have ordinarily
listened to. Like you have some country feel, you have
some rock fil you have some dance feel, but then
you have the R and B type of Kailani and
so I think that was nice for you. The other
thing that we can put in a box with you is,
(02:41):
I don't know if you want to be committed, if
you want to not be committed, if you want.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
To say do your thing and I do mine, or
if you're jealous.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
I have no idea, Like when it comes to that,
you know, it feels like you're kind of just flowing
with things.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
But then I also feel like you're a little jealous me.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Yeah, I won't say I think I'm I think I'm
competitive by nature to myself where I'm always challenging, like
how better I can show up in whatever you know
space I'm in, Like, dang, you're not going to be
a better person for me than my person. That's that.
But it's not like I'm jealous. I also really want
people to have the best for them, whatever that means.
(03:18):
But I wouldn't say jealous. I think there's there's probably
an interesting word I can't figure out, but not jealous.
I want everybody. Yeah, hello, that is just that was
That's a respect song. Okay, Yeah, that's about being like
I don't want to catch you doing some stuff that's
gonna embarrass me.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
All right, I can get that.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
I don't like being embarrassed. I'm tourist.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Oh well, yeah, I have.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
To understand, like it's you. So if anybody does something
it's gonna make it's gonna blow up.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
I hate it.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Just have you ever gotten like one of those d
ms where it's like, yeah, such and such as absolutely.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
Not such and such as with me, but I've gotten
Oh I was out here tonight and I saw such
and such with such and such at the club. I
just thought you should know, girl, are you from fans?
I was like, amazing to the person.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
So what I learned is you read your fandems?
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Uh huh I do. I do. It's some amazing stuff
in there, some pretty hilarious stuff too.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
So all right now I want to talk about the
song Chapel for a second. And clearly you love Vegas.
I do, yeah, And so do you see yourself? Like
one day, just randomly, I used to think that's how
I was gonna get married today, just like randomly being like,
let me just go ahead and you know, get married
like on a whim.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
I think if I felt it, yeah, I think if
it made sense, it made sense. I think I'm fun
in that way where it could happen.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
But later on you'd be like, what what's that doing?
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Potentially? Potentially?
Speaker 1 (04:39):
And then you have your daughter on the album too.
She's five now, yeah, oh my god.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
I know it's crazy.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
And she's been on the road with you, but it
sounds like she really could hold a note.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Oh she can really sing. We I wasn't like playing
to put her on the album. She was at the
studio and she was singing and she sounded amazing, and
I was like, if you want, because I don't force
her to do anything. I'm not like trying to be
a state mom, Like I don't like if she wants
to be a brain surgeon, that's you know. I want
her to do what she wants to do. And she
was singing, and I was like, you know, if you
want to go sing it, you can sing it. At
(05:09):
first she was shy, and then she went in there
and she smacked it and that was the first take.
Like she only did one take and.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Sings better than me. I'll tell you that she might sing.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
Better than me. I'm not gonna hold you like it's crazy.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
So does she sing at home? Like do you help
her harmonize and do things? If you see her doing that,
are you like, come on now do.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
It like this or no?
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Because it's really I really want her to step into
whatever she's doing with the autonomy to ask me if
that's what she wants. I don't ever want her to
like start I don't want to plant these seeds of
like comparing or like training, just anything that her mind
could go like, oh, you're trying to you know, she's
just very hr like. But if she asked me, like
(05:47):
sometimes she comes to rehearsals and she wants to dance
on the stage, or she comes to the shows and
gets on stage because she wants to. So it's more
like that kind of stuff that's still fun for her.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Now, is this scary for you to put out an
album like this where you know normally it's a genre
like this is an R and B album? I mean,
and you've been able to do a lot of different
things like you've done pop, you've done R and B,
you've done like a rock that You've done a lot
of great collapse. One of my favorites has always been
the Pink Sweat, the feature that you did with him
at my best.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
I love the lyrics to that too, I mean at
my worst.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Sorry, But when you thought about doing this right, what
was the reaction from your team and what thought went
behind it?
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Man? All the collaborators I worked with were so important
because they were like, we know what you listen to,
we know what you're excited about. We were in the
studio and you're watching things that people wouldn't expect you
to watch, or listening to things people wouldn't expect you
to listen to, and for some reason, everybody expects just
expects this one, you know, push from you. And it's
always like, we want heartbroken R and B, or we
(06:49):
want like somber dark R and B, or we want
like the same inspirational song of the coming of age
inspirational song, over and over and over again. And I
just was like, you know, I have to take a
leap because I'm gonna be thirty next year. By the
next album I drop, I will be thirty years old.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
You're still so young, which is amazing because honestly, you've
been in this for so long.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
Oh I'm.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
About to be thirty, and this is but your fourth album.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
It's my fourth album in my sixth project, my seventh project.
I have no idea, And I guess that brings me
to my point of like, by project seven, I should
be pivoting. I should be doing something that scary, I
should be doing something that maybe makes people go I
don't even know if I like this person anymore, but
brings this whole other group of people that go, Wow,
(07:34):
I'm seeing people say it's my worst album. I'm seeing
people say it's my best album. And I'm seeing people
say I never even liked Kaylani until this album. I
didn't know she could do this. So if I dropped
another R and B album, I just wouldn't be true
to being an artist, I think. So that was important
for me to just like have that moment in my
career to say, like I was able to artistically just
(07:57):
completely say F the box.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Yeah, I mean you have a country music on here,
and I feel like that's been kind of a thing.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Like I've been brewing a little bit.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Yeah, it's been brewing, which I love.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Now when you think about that, right, was this something
that you already had planned and then Beyonce comes out
with the country album?
Speaker 3 (08:15):
It was already a country song.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Yeah, it was already done, Okay, it was.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
It was an interlude that was just like these little
like clickie sounds and like a little bit of a
guitar strum, and I said we should turn it into
a country song because it already kind of had this
like twang to it, And so I went back in,
we got to reproduce, and then we made it the
country song, and then obviously Cowboy Carter came out, but
I was thinking of like, in my last album, there's
all these like really guitar led twangy songs, and on
(08:40):
my first album there's a bunch of those two. So
it's not an orthodox And also, my grandmother only listens
to country music, and she's told me so many times
she can't listen to any of my music because of
the subject matter because it's not country, and she's like,
I respect it, but like, you know what I love.
And I got to play this for her before it
came out and she cried and was like I finally
have something to listen to. So like I accomplished it
(09:01):
with that from.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
My person to the lyrics too.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
She did and she was like, you know, I don't
like that you're saying this and this and this, but
it's one of the cleaner Yeah, it's one of the
cleaner songs on the album. For sure.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
That's interesting to think about. I never thought about that,
like what's your family things? Because, like I said, you
are very open and honestly, and this is an album
I have seen personally a lot of people embracing and
being really excited about you know, I agree with eight.
You know, but but yeah, what do they say, like
your family are they like we can't?
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Oh, my family? You know what was really cool shout
out my little sister. She actually junior A and R
this album. It was really cool to see her step
into that role because she has a really crazy ear,
like always has. Like there are songs that blow up
and I promise you my sister showed me them six
months ago, like she like, it was really cool to
be able to see her step in the room and
like command that. And she always she loves hip hop
(09:54):
and she like really loves rat but like she always
has the ear for like the coolest most alternative song
on every album of mine, it's her favorite. So for
this one, getting to see her be like wow, like
all of this is this and it sounds like this
and it feels like this. It was really cool. And
the rest of my family like, honestly, they're just stoked
to see me happy and excited to see me like
make things I care about and they want to come
(10:15):
to the shows and turn up.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
And your daughter's executive producer on the album.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
She executive produced every album since she since she's been
born a game.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
She gonna be paid for life.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
I absolutely hope.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
So does she know that? Like did you do you
tell her?
Speaker 3 (10:27):
Like? Nah, no, you know, I really try to keep
my daughter in her world of like regular.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Kid until she's on tour and she's like.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Yeah, and even then she can't really connect it. Like
we went to the aquarium the other day and we
walked past people and they were like, oh my god, Kaylanie,
and she was like, I thought, you don't talk to strangers.
She was like, why do those people know your name?
Like I was like, they like my music, and she
was like, then why didn't you talk back? If I
can't talk to strangers. And sometimes that is really hard
to navigate.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Because you're like it's a great question, Dang, what do
I say?
Speaker 3 (10:58):
Because I also have to tell her people know your
name and people might say hi to you, and people
might say, hey, I da come here, can I get
a hug? And like, you know, separate the boundaries between that.
So that's always like.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
You know, I remember you said you've always known that
you wanted to be a mom. Yeah, so where did
that come from, like as a kid or you know,
even growing up, like knowing that like I want to
have a baby. So and you have been so honest
about that journey too, of wanting that, because sometimes that's
hard for people to express because you do never know
what will end up happening. You know, as a woman,
there's so many things that about you you.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
Can absolutely absolutely I always said like, whatever God wants
to bless me with, you know that I hope it
was going to be a child or more than one,
but whatever God wants to bless me with. And she
is more than I could have ever expected in any
kind of way. And I got exactly what I dreamed
about and more. And she honestly it's her world. It's
(11:52):
really her world, and like we all just like rock
behind her. But as far as like being open and
honest about the journey with motherhood is just I think
people need to understand that motherhood looks different first in
so many ways for so many different people, and we're
breaking so many molds of like hundreds of years of
like what motherhood is supposed to be. And it's just
(12:12):
been cool to see like like young moms come up
to me with their kids at like meet and greets
or signings and be like, you know, this made me
feel like I could still go to work. I could
I could pursue my dreams. I could do music. I
can be an artist, and I could be a kick
ass mom.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
So right, and I have a six pack.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
And a six pack yeah, and go to the gym.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Now, how has that helped you? I know for a
lot of people like going to the gym, it's really there.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
It's so mental. It's so it is so mental, like
I always say, like to people who are always being like,
I want to start going to the gym. At some
point when it switches from a physical goal to like
I have to do this to stay sane, I feel
like that's when you unlock like how important fitness is
to you, because you get past the whole like I
(12:55):
have a goal of like what I want to look like,
but if I missed the days in which I have
because we've been on this like promo run and I'm like,
I'm itching to get back to go to the gym show.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
And I saw that you said that you were renting
Airbnbs while you were doing this album and surfing.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
You must have had a really good time.
Speaker 3 (13:12):
I had a blast. Hopefully it sounds.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
Like I was gonna say, it sounds like ya, even
from listening to like earlier singles like after Hours, which
had the Nina Sky type of feel that felt like
a really fun song, and I think that people had
an anticipation of okay or club banger album.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
Yeah, I kind of messed up and said that early on.
I was like, we're outside, we're dancing, because there are
some like club dancing moments on there. But I just
didn't want to spoil anything else. So I just kept saying,
whatever you're expecting, it's not what you're expecting. And that's
about all I was able to say. But we actually
made After Hours in San Diego and we were surfing
(13:51):
that whole trip, and I walked in the room and
I was like, what is a song that as soon
as it comes on for like our generation, like everybody
is like whoa, and like everybody dances, and I was
like okay instantly Nina Sky. And so I told the
producer to make it and sorry, hello, hey, sorry about
no you're good. But we made it. And I remember
(14:14):
going and getting in the spinner to go to the
club that night, and the whole sprinter of everybody who
worked on the album and like dancing, singing the words
and we were like, okay, we might got one.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
I think so, yeah, that's like a real celebratory in
the club. I feel like people don't go to clubs
like they used to. It's a different it's something different
that's happening now though. I feel like it's more of
a lounge restaurant type of experience. And I've never lived
I know, you live in La now and our house
party is still a thing.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
No, Honestly, it's just too much. It's too much weirdness
that that happens, and like a lot of untrustworthy I
think dynamics and just people being like I don't know
what this means, and people being so afraid of like
cameras and.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
Even posting where you are. It's like not until do
not let people know you're gonna be out.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
Of town exactly.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
You know, it's a real thing.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
It's a real thing. But I feel like that's why
it's important for me. I feel like to do these
after parties and these release parties and the parties for
after hours because party culture at its core is something
that really does bring people together and really does feel good.
And they use there was parties using revolution, there was
there's joy and dance and music using revolution, and that's
imperative for people to be joyous and to be together,
(15:27):
especially in really tough times in the world where like
we're crazily separated. So we're having a party tonight to
celebrate this album and we need that. Yeah, absolutely needed
for sunately need that.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
And you know, since you talk about everything that's going
on in the world, and I know that you've said,
like as far as you being really vocal about support
for Palestine, which is a humanitarian thing, right, not political. Right,
it's not a political thing.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
It is. It is awful to see what's been happening.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
But do you really feel like people were kind of
distancing themselves because it is hard sometimes for art is
to take a stand. But I'm glad that you did
because I do feel it's important if it's something that
touches your heart. But people are watching and paying attention,
and sometimes people are learning that way too that may
not have ordinarily paid attention.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
Yeah, And there was a clip of me on Instagram
Live that went viral with me being like every single
person and I like that was me super caffeinated talking
on that like early in the morning, just yapping about
a bunch of different.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Stuff with the see exactly.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
There's so much context of that. There's there's huge teams
that are behind artists. It also wasn't every single feature.
There was certain things that were like, especially like my
age peers that were like timing was an issue. They
had albums coming out or things like that. But there
was people that I that I very much looked up
to and that I very much you know, asked to
be a part of it, and like they have a
(16:46):
team member that was like, we don't like her at all,
or they were just like and then I looked into
their politics and then like there was some comments slid
on the way here and there. I wouldn't just pull
that out of my ass and just like make that
up because at this point, what's going to happen is
gonna happen. What I've lost is what I've lost, and
things that have you know, what I've gained is what
I've gained. Like, I will never regret ever being vocal
(17:10):
about any injustice that ever existed. This isn't specific to
a country or a place. This is specific to innocent
lives being lost on a massive scale. I would defend
any single place in the whole entire planet, any people
that this happened to. So I don't have any regrets here.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
And it's also about raising money to make sure that
you can show what you've done also, But I do
appreciate that because some artists will say, I don't talk
about things like that in my music.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
I don't want to.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
But you've been, you know, and I think that's important
for people to see that and do that. I actually
like when comedians, I like when artists. I like when
actors can take a stand and really firmly believe in
something and support that and be on the right side
of things too.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
I mean it's because it's key to history. I mean,
if you look at every single revolution and history, the
Beatles were a major part of shifting out of the
Vietnam War and like healing all of the things that
was going on there. Then we have Nina Simone with
Strange Fruit, we have James Baldwin, we have Like art
is part of revolution, it's also key to stamping these
times in history. For me, the album was already finished.
(18:14):
It had been finished before October. I said, not only
do I feel really crazy about dropping an album during
this time, I'm gonna feel extra crazy about dropping visuals
and nothing attributes to anything that I'm being vocal about
or believing in. I didn't want to go cheesy make
a song like I won't make a we Are the World.
I don't, And to be honest, I really understand that
(18:36):
people would call that corny. People don't want that. So
what did I do? I really had a knowledge of
my audience and said, I'm going to give them an
R and B song because that's what they want from
me right now. That's what they love, that's what they know.
And I'm going to sneak an initiative in there, drop
a T shirt with a Palestinian designer and a company
in Palestine, have them which is supporting their families and
(18:58):
their company, and have them all get make the money.
I have nothing to do with it except for pointing
people in the direction. That's it. That's all I wanted
to do. I made no money from that. I got
a whole lot of a whole lot of crazy shit
from it. But I'm glad we were able to pair
something with something that already existed, because if I just
smacked a revolutionary song on this album and nowhere, that
(19:19):
would have been opportunity.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Yes, that would have been very and then you would
have been like in the middle of.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
Us, Yeah, and just opportunistic. Like I didn't want it
to be that. I just knew I had things coming out.
And there's a way to pair initiatives with anything that
you do. We did. We did food drives on my
last tour. We did. I did a deal with Fashionova,
and I said, I'll do this deal with you if
you donate money to all these LGBTQ centers. There's a
way as artists that we can recognize our audience and
(19:45):
pair them and point them in a direction towards an
organization or a cause that already exists. And therefore we
don't have to take up space. We can just amplify.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
That's dope. I appreciate you for that for sure. Now
let's talk about this song Sussia. Yeah, and you got
a Sussi a tattooing I did. I had that tattoo already.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
I had it already. I had it.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
Already and I spot yeah, a little Susia spot Okay.
I had got this tattoo actually during the New York
camp for Crash that I did here, I did in
Harlem and we stayed for like a week and made
music here and I got the tattoo, and then in
Vegas we made this song and because it opens with
(20:24):
me saying a Spanish word, I was like, perfect, this
can be a little dirty song. It can be Sussia.
And I remember being like, well, every I feel like
all my fans know this, but Jill Scott classifies is
my favorite rapper.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
Okay, okay, I'm not mad at.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
That, Like I'm sorry, but Jill Scott rapping I need
I think maybe she classifies us. It's more like spoken word,
like poetry, but like singing or rapping, like she's the
bars are there forever.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
I mean, I love her opening.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
It's perfect and I had and I really like, I
had to really sit there and tell her, like you
have no idea how much this means to me and
how much just means to like everybody. We put the
track list up and people were like, Jill Scott let me.
And then to be able to like mix it with
Young Migo was also really cool to me because that's
just two worlds. At first, I was like, people are
(21:13):
gonna be like, what the hell you were.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Like crash, that's what that's the album. Absolutely, that's so funny.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
That's a really beautiful sex sexy song. I have to
ask you, like because even me listening to the album,
because when it came out on Friday, I listened to it.
Then I listened to it in a car because now
I'm sitting in traffic for hours every day.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
Because I'm moved.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
But so but it does give me an opportunity to
listen to music more, you know, because I used to
drive to work when I did mornings, it take me
fifteen minutes by the time I get there, and I
heard two songs that' said.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
But now I get to hear like a whole album
on the plus side.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Of things, and every single time, it would be something
different that I like the best. I love that now
for you, does that happen when you're listening to this
where you like, this is my favorite, like this is
my baby? Yeah, and then it switches up.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
They keep asking me what my favorite song is, and
it just it keeps changing, and I know even more
so it'll change as I'm performing them, and it'll change
as I like I'm meeting people and they're explaining like
what each song means to them. And every time we
made a new song and decided it was on the album.
It became my favorite song.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
How many songs did you do?
Speaker 3 (22:19):
Oh my god?
Speaker 1 (22:21):
So many?
Speaker 3 (22:22):
This album started as myself titled okay, so it was
supposed to be the Kailanie album, and I was like, man,
I have all these like really strong R and B
ideas that I want to do and things like that.
And then it just kept shape shifting and we kept
going to all these different cities and I kept like
being like, no, I want to challenge myself in this
way and I want to do this and I want
to do this, and it just took its own life,
(22:45):
like it really did, and we ended up naming the
album after the song crash was made.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Oh okay, so the is oka yeah yeah yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
And then I don't know, nobody could. It was hard
to even decide what was coming out after after hours,
because after hours was obvious to all of us. We
were like, duh, this is a single, but we had
no idea what to come out next, because I didn't
know how to paint the picture of what this world
was going to be because it is crazy.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
Yeah, and it is.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
I mean, it's perfectly titled. I feel like, thank you
you ended up to lose my wife, which was an
interesting choice. And that's what makes me feel like, can
Kayleannie be in a relationship?
Speaker 3 (23:20):
I'm screaming, who knows? Can?
Speaker 2 (23:23):
I listening to that song, I was like, yeah, you
gotta go. Just the stuff that you were doing.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
The verse was very purposeful. I said, you know what
I have not. I have not written a classically toxic
Kai Lannie playful kind of trifling verse in a little
while on this project. And I just I slipped that
one in there. That was not a true story. Yeah,
that was not a true story. That was just a
me purposeful like I'm gonna say something cheeky because I
think people know I'm cheeky and that's their jams, So
(23:50):
I'm gonna just slide it in there.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Well, that came from somewhere, you know, I was gonna say.
Speaker 3 (23:54):
Deep in the subconscious.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Yeah, So what about a tour? Now? What does a
tour look like for this? For this album?
Speaker 3 (24:00):
Oh my god, it's gonna be nuts. It's gonna be
so nuts. I have so many ideas. I made this
album specifically to tour. Okay, that's why there's so many sounds,
That's why the production was so important because I made
this specifically to have fun. I learned a lot on
my last tour touring a very like sweet and Light
and Airy album and maybe like the first two weeks
(24:20):
in we ended up playing majority of the album before
that because there was so much more energy on that one,
and you start realizing, like, what kind of world do
you want to cultivate in the space?
Speaker 2 (24:30):
That was a beautiful album too, though everything is just
so different.
Speaker 3 (24:33):
It's like you said, I hope I never make the
same album twice.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
And man, we definitely cannot put you in a box.
I love just having experience.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
You heard that here first, Thank you.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
But that is scary because most artists would be like,
and most labels will tell you, yeah, you have to
make this album because how are they gonna what genre
is it going to be in? But I feel like
streaming helps with people being able to stream singles and
so what's so? I guess after hours I hear that
all the time I was written this article about artists
(25:03):
and how they feel about streaming. What are your thoughts
about streaming?
Speaker 3 (25:06):
About streaming, honestly, I'm not like I really stay out
of the world of all that because so much has
been conflated with just things that I have no idea about,
like buying streams and placing things strategically here and how
this works and this works. And I will always say
impact matters more than you know anything anything in life.
(25:27):
You may have no idea. I this album may stream horrible,
this may sell horrible, this may place horrible. But when
you come to the show, the energy in the room
is probable. You know it's it is you walk away
with something crazy, people are gonna leave and be like,
what was that? People had such a great the shows
were so big on the last tour that people were like, oh,
I actually had no idea that this. Many people even
(25:49):
fucked with Kilnie like they had no idea. And I
think that it's I'm in a unique situation that I
never really take for granted because it isn't dependent on that.
I've always had such a strong bond with my fans,
where you see how they show up in the street
for me at the signing, you see how they come
on tour, you see how much it means to them,
and like that is the only thing that matters. I'm
super focused on that.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
How were the writers' camps for you? And for people listening,
like tell us some of the things that goes on
in these writers camps, Like you said you did one
here in New York, but then you traveled all over yeah,
and did different riding camps.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Like how does that help you? How does that inspire you?
Speaker 2 (26:24):
What are some things that went on during yours that
it's memorable to you.
Speaker 3 (26:27):
Well, basically, we started in San Diego. We went in
San Diego twice one at the beginn't want the end,
and I bonded so hard with what technically we started
in the Bay and then we went to San Diego.
But I ended up like kind of rocking with the
little group that we had formulated early on, and we
just kept like moving everybody. We did the Bay, we
did San Diego, we went to New York, we went
(26:50):
to Dominican Republic, we went to Vegas, we went back
to San Diego, and we just it happened on accident
because we started at a studio in the Bay and
like nothing was working, like like the equipment wasn't working,
like the studio engineer there was just it was like
thing after thing after thing. But we had already brought
everyone from LA and put them in hotels. So it
was like, what do we do? I said, you know what,
(27:11):
Let's just run a bunch of equipment. Let's set up
in a house, and let's put everybody in different rooms
and let everybody just cross walk around back and forth.
So I kept visiting each producer pocket in each room
and just being like, I like a little bit of that.
I like a little bit of that, let's mix it.
And I had really incredible collaborate collaborators. My A and
R is absolutely incredible. All of my producers are really incredible.
Everybody I wrote with this really incredible. And how much
(27:33):
we all ended up being able to genuinely say like
I love you guys as a family during this process,
to where celebrating the final studio sessions and playing the
album over and over and over again felt like this
thing that we all did. It didn't feel like my album.
It felt like, y'all, we made it here. My visual
team was sitting there putting up all these mood boards,
downloading millions of photos and going from the computer to
(27:54):
the kinks to printing it out and back and gluing
it on the wall, and everybody was so invested in
this process, and it just feels like one big familial
like gift and offering. Then it could ever feel like
that's it was the best?
Speaker 1 (28:09):
What do you listen to like outside so much?
Speaker 2 (28:12):
So curious, like when Kailani's in the gym working out,
is there a different playlist than when you're in the
car driving then when you're going surfing.
Speaker 3 (28:18):
Then I promise, I don't say this would be cool.
I say this to be that I'm a Pisce's moon.
I'm really delusional. But I listened to a lot of
classical in the gym. Wow, because it really makes you
like zone out. And something about the really turned like
h makes me a little like anxious, plus the pre workout,
so I have to find like a balance of something
that makes everything really cinematic. So I listened to a
(28:40):
lot of like classical. I listened to a lot of jazz.
I listened to a lot of Boston Nova. I listened
to a lot of Spanish music. I listened to rock.
I listen to a lot of like electronic, whatever genre
we consider like attament, Paula, there's so much. I listened
to rabbitlus to R and B.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
I don't I like music.
Speaker 3 (29:01):
I was in I was in a band for six
years in my life, so I'm very instrument led versus
like words or vocals.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
And then you also have an afrobeats artist. Yeah you know,
yeah om Ale, I love him, which is said, but
that didn't feel like an afrobeats vibe.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Like did you think it was?
Speaker 3 (29:17):
It didn't start as an afrobeks at all. There was
just like this crazy piano part. And then my A
and R, who's absolutely incredible, went to Guilty Beats, who
is and am a piano producer, and had him kind
of like put those classic A piano undertones like underneath
it to make it go that way, and then we
send it to him and he sent it back so
(29:39):
quickly and he actually did two versions for me, Like
he's He's incredible. We love him.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
I learned about h my piano from listening to Uncle Waffles.
Speaker 3 (29:46):
I love Uncle Waffles.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
I love Traveling really does open up your mind to
so much when it comes to music. And I can
tell from this album that you've been, you know, doing
a lot in different oh yeah places worldwide.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
Yeah sure, but I I think that's the beautiful thing
about it.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
I do definitely want to thank you for coming through.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
I know you got a lot that you have going on,
and I'm glad you can because I honestly I know
you before you were like interviews, you were kind of
off of it.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
But I'm glad that.
Speaker 3 (30:13):
No, we're good. We're in a good place.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
Okay, good, I'm glad.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
I'm happy to thank you because I was like, she
better come up here one day.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
Ah. No, I'm in a really good place.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
You seem like it. Thank you, So congratulations. Make su'all
y'all buy Crash, go get your record signed.
Speaker 3 (30:27):
Yea, and come to tour.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
Come to tour, but say stream it, but now we can.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
You know it still sounds weird when we say bye,
but make sure you go get it.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
And when where can people get information on the tour?
Speaker 3 (30:37):
The tour information is going to drop super soon. Just
stay just keep up times with all my different various
social media's it's all at Kailanie, and just get.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
A little scoop like, yeah, they're not gonna come soon,
don't worry.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
Okay, do we know where we're starting?
Speaker 3 (30:50):
Somewhere in the Midwest. I think I just found that out. Actually,
maybe like an hour ago there.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
We got a little spoiler.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
Yeah, come on, teasers.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
Well, thank y'all so well, thank you so much for
joining me, Kailani. And you know, I just love who
you are as a person, so I appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (31:05):
Thank you well,
What's up? Its way up for Angela.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
He and you know, I'm excited because Kailani is here
with me today, a fresh off putting out a brand
new album that everybody's talking about Crash.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
So first of all, congratulations.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Thank you, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
How are you feeling.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
I'm good. I'm happy to be here. I did a
really cool signing yesterday and it was like probably the
craziest turnout of my career in New York. Yeah, it
was crazy. It was super crazy.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
I saw people saying, you don't even have to buy anything,
She's gonna sign for you, because you know, sometimes you
go to signings and like, okay, we got to push
these sales. You gotta buy this, you gotta buy this,
you know, merchant, you gotta buy the album.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
And then but you were signing everything for everybody.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Yeah, and also people can just come hang out and
take pictures. I feel like it's always been my thing
for me to be fan focused. That's the most important
thing for me, honestly. Like the sales are cool, charts
are cool, that's all all right, But for me, it's
getting to see my impact in person and getting to
like exchange the energy with people. Who feel like I've
done thing for them.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
So I think people are very connected to you because
of the things that you talk about in your music.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
It's very honest.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
But this album, by the way, and I've seen you
talk about it, and it's called Crash, and I know
there has to be a reason for it because it.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Feels like a lot of things.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
It's a lot going on there.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Let's talk about it, cra you know.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
I actually realized after watching interviews that I did before
the album came out that I was trying so hard
not to spoil anything that I feel like I didn't
explain it properly. But to me, it's just who I
am emotionally, It's who I am as a person. I
am all over the place, I am chaotic. I do
have a bunch of different emotions going on. I have
highs and lows and ups and downs, and it was
(01:41):
important for me to just stand in that and embrace that.
And also, to me, this was my pivotal moment where
I got to show like you couldn't put me in
a box musically, and I feel like I just kept
getting people wanting me to make two albums Ago again
or my first mixtape again, and just be stuck in
this like same sign, you know situation. But if I
(02:02):
wanted to be able to grow as an artist, I
had to make something that was polarizing and some people
really hate it and some people really love it, and
I think that's exactly what I wanted to accomplid.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Some people will say I like certain songs on.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Here, yeah, yeah, and they may not like everything, but
I'm excited to see how tour is gonna go. You know.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
It kind of reminds me of I'm gonna say, like
iHeart Festival. When we do that.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
It's a lot of different genres coming together in one space.
But I appreciate and enjoy that because sometimes it makes
you listen to things that maybe you wouldn't have ordinarily
listened to. Like you have some country feel, you have
some rock fil you have some dance feel, but then
you have the R and B type of Kailani and
so I think that was nice for you. The other
thing that we can put in a box with you is,
(02:41):
I don't know if you want to be committed, if
you want to not be committed, if you want.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
To say do your thing and I do mine, or
if you're jealous.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
I have no idea, Like when it comes to that,
you know, it feels like you're kind of just flowing
with things.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
But then I also feel like you're a little jealous me.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Yeah, I won't say I think I'm I think I'm
competitive by nature to myself where I'm always challenging, like
how better I can show up in whatever you know
space I'm in, Like, dang, you're not going to be
a better person for me than my person. That's that.
But it's not like I'm jealous. I also really want
people to have the best for them, whatever that means.
(03:18):
But I wouldn't say jealous. I think there's there's probably
an interesting word I can't figure out, but not jealous.
I want everybody. Yeah, hello, that is just that was
That's a respect song. Okay, Yeah, that's about being like
I don't want to catch you doing some stuff that's
gonna embarrass me.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
All right, I can get that.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
I don't like being embarrassed. I'm tourist.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Oh well, yeah, I have.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
To understand, like it's you. So if anybody does something
it's gonna make it's gonna blow up.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
I hate it.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Just have you ever gotten like one of those d
ms where it's like, yeah, such and such as absolutely.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
Not such and such as with me, but I've gotten
Oh I was out here tonight and I saw such
and such with such and such at the club. I
just thought you should know, girl, are you from fans?
I was like, amazing to the person.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
So what I learned is you read your fandems?
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Uh huh I do. I do. It's some amazing stuff
in there, some pretty hilarious stuff too.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
So all right now I want to talk about the
song Chapel for a second. And clearly you love Vegas.
I do, yeah, And so do you see yourself? Like
one day, just randomly, I used to think that's how
I was gonna get married today, just like randomly being like,
let me just go ahead and you know, get married
like on a whim.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
I think if I felt it, yeah, I think if
it made sense, it made sense. I think I'm fun
in that way where it could happen.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
But later on you'd be like, what what's that doing?
Speaker 3 (04:36):
Potentially? Potentially?
Speaker 1 (04:39):
And then you have your daughter on the album too.
She's five now, yeah, oh my god.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
I know it's crazy.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
And she's been on the road with you, but it
sounds like she really could hold a note.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Oh she can really sing. We I wasn't like playing
to put her on the album. She was at the
studio and she was singing and she sounded amazing, and
I was like, if you want, because I don't force
her to do anything. I'm not like trying to be
a state mom, Like I don't like if she wants
to be a brain surgeon, that's you know. I want
her to do what she wants to do. And she
was singing, and I was like, you know, if you
want to go sing it, you can sing it. At
(05:09):
first she was shy, and then she went in there
and she smacked it and that was the first take.
Like she only did one take and.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Sings better than me. I'll tell you that she might sing.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
Better than me. I'm not gonna hold you like it's crazy.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
So does she sing at home? Like do you help
her harmonize and do things? If you see her doing that,
are you like, come on now do.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
It like this or no?
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Because it's really I really want her to step into
whatever she's doing with the autonomy to ask me if
that's what she wants. I don't ever want her to
like start I don't want to plant these seeds of
like comparing or like training, just anything that her mind
could go like, oh, you're trying to you know, she's
just very hr like. But if she asked me, like
(05:47):
sometimes she comes to rehearsals and she wants to dance
on the stage, or she comes to the shows and
gets on stage because she wants to. So it's more
like that kind of stuff that's still fun for her.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Now, is this scary for you to put out an
album like this where you know normally it's a genre
like this is an R and B album? I mean,
and you've been able to do a lot of different
things like you've done pop, you've done R and B,
you've done like a rock that You've done a lot
of great collapse. One of my favorites has always been
the Pink Sweat, the feature that you did with him
at my best.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
I love the lyrics to that too, I mean at
my worst.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Sorry, But when you thought about doing this right, what
was the reaction from your team and what thought went
behind it?
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Man? All the collaborators I worked with were so important
because they were like, we know what you listen to,
we know what you're excited about. We were in the
studio and you're watching things that people wouldn't expect you
to watch, or listening to things people wouldn't expect you
to listen to, and for some reason, everybody expects just
expects this one, you know, push from you. And it's
always like, we want heartbroken R and B, or we
(06:49):
want like somber dark R and B, or we want
like the same inspirational song of the coming of age
inspirational song, over and over and over again. And I
just was like, you know, I have to take a
leap because I'm gonna be thirty next year. By the
next album I drop, I will be thirty years old.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
You're still so young, which is amazing because honestly, you've
been in this for so long.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
Oh I'm.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
About to be thirty, and this is but your fourth album.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
It's my fourth album in my sixth project, my seventh project.
I have no idea, And I guess that brings me
to my point of like, by project seven, I should
be pivoting. I should be doing something that scary, I
should be doing something that maybe makes people go I
don't even know if I like this person anymore, but
brings this whole other group of people that go, Wow,
(07:34):
I'm seeing people say it's my worst album. I'm seeing
people say it's my best album. And I'm seeing people
say I never even liked Kaylani until this album. I
didn't know she could do this. So if I dropped
another R and B album, I just wouldn't be true
to being an artist, I think. So that was important
for me to just like have that moment in my
career to say, like I was able to artistically just
(07:57):
completely say F the box.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Yeah, I mean you have a country music on here,
and I feel like that's been kind of a thing.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Like I've been brewing a little bit.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Yeah, it's been brewing, which I love.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Now when you think about that, right, was this something
that you already had planned and then Beyonce comes out
with the country album?
Speaker 3 (08:15):
It was already a country song.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Yeah, it was already done, Okay, it was.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
It was an interlude that was just like these little
like clickie sounds and like a little bit of a
guitar strum, and I said we should turn it into
a country song because it already kind of had this
like twang to it, And so I went back in,
we got to reproduce, and then we made it the
country song, and then obviously Cowboy Carter came out, but
I was thinking of like, in my last album, there's
all these like really guitar led twangy songs, and on
(08:40):
my first album there's a bunch of those two. So
it's not an orthodox And also, my grandmother only listens
to country music, and she's told me so many times
she can't listen to any of my music because of
the subject matter because it's not country, and she's like,
I respect it, but like, you know what I love.
And I got to play this for her before it
came out and she cried and was like I finally
have something to listen to. So like I accomplished it
(09:01):
with that from.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
My person to the lyrics too.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
She did and she was like, you know, I don't
like that you're saying this and this and this, but
it's one of the cleaner Yeah, it's one of the
cleaner songs on the album. For sure.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
That's interesting to think about. I never thought about that,
like what's your family things? Because, like I said, you
are very open and honestly, and this is an album
I have seen personally a lot of people embracing and
being really excited about you know, I agree with eight.
You know, but but yeah, what do they say, like
your family are they like we can't?
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Oh, my family? You know what was really cool shout
out my little sister. She actually junior A and R
this album. It was really cool to see her step
into that role because she has a really crazy ear,
like always has. Like there are songs that blow up
and I promise you my sister showed me them six
months ago, like she like, it was really cool to
be able to see her step in the room and
like command that. And she always she loves hip hop
(09:54):
and she like really loves rat but like she always
has the ear for like the coolest most alternative song
on every album of mine, it's her favorite. So for
this one, getting to see her be like wow, like
all of this is this and it sounds like this
and it feels like this. It was really cool. And
the rest of my family like, honestly, they're just stoked
to see me happy and excited to see me like
make things I care about and they want to come
(10:15):
to the shows and turn up.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
And your daughter's executive producer on the album.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
She executive produced every album since she since she's been
born a game.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
She gonna be paid for life.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
I absolutely hope.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
So does she know that? Like did you do you
tell her?
Speaker 3 (10:27):
Like? Nah, no, you know, I really try to keep
my daughter in her world of like regular.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Kid until she's on tour and she's like.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Yeah, and even then she can't really connect it. Like
we went to the aquarium the other day and we
walked past people and they were like, oh my god, Kaylanie,
and she was like, I thought, you don't talk to strangers.
She was like, why do those people know your name?
Like I was like, they like my music, and she
was like, then why didn't you talk back? If I
can't talk to strangers. And sometimes that is really hard
to navigate.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Because you're like it's a great question, Dang, what do
I say?
Speaker 3 (10:58):
Because I also have to tell her people know your
name and people might say hi to you, and people
might say, hey, I da come here, can I get
a hug? And like, you know, separate the boundaries between that.
So that's always like.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
You know, I remember you said you've always known that
you wanted to be a mom. Yeah, so where did
that come from, like as a kid or you know,
even growing up, like knowing that like I want to
have a baby. So and you have been so honest
about that journey too, of wanting that, because sometimes that's
hard for people to express because you do never know
what will end up happening. You know, as a woman,
there's so many things that about you you.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
Can absolutely absolutely I always said like, whatever God wants
to bless me with, you know that I hope it
was going to be a child or more than one,
but whatever God wants to bless me with. And she
is more than I could have ever expected in any
kind of way. And I got exactly what I dreamed
about and more. And she honestly it's her world. It's
(11:52):
really her world, and like we all just like rock
behind her. But as far as like being open and
honest about the journey with motherhood is just I think
people need to understand that motherhood looks different first in
so many ways for so many different people, and we're
breaking so many molds of like hundreds of years of
like what motherhood is supposed to be. And it's just
(12:12):
been cool to see like like young moms come up
to me with their kids at like meet and greets
or signings and be like, you know, this made me
feel like I could still go to work. I could
I could pursue my dreams. I could do music. I
can be an artist, and I could be a kick
ass mom.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
So right, and I have a six pack.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
And a six pack yeah, and go to the gym.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Now, how has that helped you? I know for a
lot of people like going to the gym, it's really there.
Speaker 3 (12:35):
It's so mental. It's so it is so mental, like
I always say, like to people who are always being like,
I want to start going to the gym. At some
point when it switches from a physical goal to like
I have to do this to stay sane, I feel
like that's when you unlock like how important fitness is
to you, because you get past the whole like I
(12:55):
have a goal of like what I want to look like,
but if I missed the days in which I have
because we've been on this like promo run and I'm like,
I'm itching to get back to go to the gym show.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
And I saw that you said that you were renting
Airbnbs while you were doing this album and surfing.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
You must have had a really good time.
Speaker 3 (13:12):
I had a blast. Hopefully it sounds.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
Like I was gonna say, it sounds like ya, even
from listening to like earlier singles like after Hours, which
had the Nina Sky type of feel that felt like
a really fun song, and I think that people had
an anticipation of okay or club banger album.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
Yeah, I kind of messed up and said that early on.
I was like, we're outside, we're dancing, because there are
some like club dancing moments on there. But I just
didn't want to spoil anything else. So I just kept saying,
whatever you're expecting, it's not what you're expecting. And that's
about all I was able to say. But we actually
made After Hours in San Diego and we were surfing
(13:51):
that whole trip, and I walked in the room and
I was like, what is a song that as soon
as it comes on for like our generation, like everybody
is like whoa, and like everybody dances, and I was
like okay instantly Nina Sky. And so I told the
producer to make it and sorry, hello, hey, sorry about
no you're good. But we made it. And I remember
(14:14):
going and getting in the spinner to go to the
club that night, and the whole sprinter of everybody who
worked on the album and like dancing, singing the words
and we were like, okay, we might got one.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
I think so, yeah, that's like a real celebratory in
the club. I feel like people don't go to clubs
like they used to. It's a different it's something different
that's happening now though. I feel like it's more of
a lounge restaurant type of experience. And I've never lived
I know, you live in La now and our house
party is still a thing.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
No, Honestly, it's just too much. It's too much weirdness
that that happens, and like a lot of untrustworthy I
think dynamics and just people being like I don't know
what this means, and people being so afraid of like
cameras and.
Speaker 1 (14:57):
Even posting where you are. It's like not until do
not let people know you're gonna be out.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
Of town exactly.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
You know, it's a real thing.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
It's a real thing. But I feel like that's why
it's important for me. I feel like to do these
after parties and these release parties and the parties for
after hours because party culture at its core is something
that really does bring people together and really does feel good.
And they use there was parties using revolution, there was
there's joy and dance and music using revolution, and that's
imperative for people to be joyous and to be together,
(15:27):
especially in really tough times in the world where like
we're crazily separated. So we're having a party tonight to
celebrate this album and we need that. Yeah, absolutely needed
for sunately need that.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
And you know, since you talk about everything that's going
on in the world, and I know that you've said,
like as far as you being really vocal about support
for Palestine, which is a humanitarian thing, right, not political. Right,
it's not a political thing.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
It is. It is awful to see what's been happening.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
But do you really feel like people were kind of
distancing themselves because it is hard sometimes for art is
to take a stand. But I'm glad that you did
because I do feel it's important if it's something that
touches your heart. But people are watching and paying attention,
and sometimes people are learning that way too that may
not have ordinarily paid attention.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
Yeah, And there was a clip of me on Instagram
Live that went viral with me being like every single
person and I like that was me super caffeinated talking
on that like early in the morning, just yapping about
a bunch of different.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Stuff with the see exactly.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
There's so much context of that. There's there's huge teams
that are behind artists. It also wasn't every single feature.
There was certain things that were like, especially like my
age peers that were like timing was an issue. They
had albums coming out or things like that. But there
was people that I that I very much looked up
to and that I very much you know, asked to
be a part of it, and like they have a
(16:46):
team member that was like, we don't like her at all,
or they were just like and then I looked into
their politics and then like there was some comments slid
on the way here and there. I wouldn't just pull
that out of my ass and just like make that
up because at this point, what's going to happen is
gonna happen. What I've lost is what I've lost, and
things that have you know, what I've gained is what
I've gained. Like, I will never regret ever being vocal
(17:10):
about any injustice that ever existed. This isn't specific to
a country or a place. This is specific to innocent
lives being lost on a massive scale. I would defend
any single place in the whole entire planet, any people
that this happened to. So I don't have any regrets here.
Speaker 2 (17:27):
And it's also about raising money to make sure that
you can show what you've done also, But I do
appreciate that because some artists will say, I don't talk
about things like that in my music.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
I don't want to.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
But you've been, you know, and I think that's important
for people to see that and do that. I actually
like when comedians, I like when artists. I like when
actors can take a stand and really firmly believe in
something and support that and be on the right side
of things too.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
I mean it's because it's key to history. I mean,
if you look at every single revolution and history, the
Beatles were a major part of shifting out of the
Vietnam War and like healing all of the things that
was going on there. Then we have Nina Simone with
Strange Fruit, we have James Baldwin, we have Like art
is part of revolution, it's also key to stamping these
times in history. For me, the album was already finished.
(18:14):
It had been finished before October. I said, not only
do I feel really crazy about dropping an album during
this time, I'm gonna feel extra crazy about dropping visuals
and nothing attributes to anything that I'm being vocal about
or believing in. I didn't want to go cheesy make
a song like I won't make a we Are the World.
I don't, And to be honest, I really understand that
(18:36):
people would call that corny. People don't want that. So
what did I do? I really had a knowledge of
my audience and said, I'm going to give them an
R and B song because that's what they want from
me right now. That's what they love, that's what they know.
And I'm going to sneak an initiative in there, drop
a T shirt with a Palestinian designer and a company
in Palestine, have them which is supporting their families and
(18:58):
their company, and have them all get make the money.
I have nothing to do with it except for pointing
people in the direction. That's it. That's all I wanted
to do. I made no money from that. I got
a whole lot of a whole lot of crazy shit
from it. But I'm glad we were able to pair
something with something that already existed, because if I just
smacked a revolutionary song on this album and nowhere, that
(19:19):
would have been opportunity.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Yes, that would have been very and then you would
have been like in the middle of.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
Us, Yeah, and just opportunistic. Like I didn't want it
to be that. I just knew I had things coming out.
And there's a way to pair initiatives with anything that
you do. We did. We did food drives on my
last tour. We did. I did a deal with Fashionova,
and I said, I'll do this deal with you if
you donate money to all these LGBTQ centers. There's a
way as artists that we can recognize our audience and
(19:45):
pair them and point them in a direction towards an
organization or a cause that already exists. And therefore we
don't have to take up space. We can just amplify.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
That's dope. I appreciate you for that for sure. Now
let's talk about this song Sussia. Yeah, and you got
a Sussi a tattooing I did. I had that tattoo already.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
I had it already. I had it.
Speaker 3 (20:04):
Already and I spot yeah, a little Susia spot Okay.
I had got this tattoo actually during the New York
camp for Crash that I did here, I did in
Harlem and we stayed for like a week and made
music here and I got the tattoo, and then in
Vegas we made this song and because it opens with
(20:24):
me saying a Spanish word, I was like, perfect, this
can be a little dirty song. It can be Sussia.
And I remember being like, well, every I feel like
all my fans know this, but Jill Scott classifies is
my favorite rapper.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
Okay, okay, I'm not mad at.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
That, Like I'm sorry, but Jill Scott rapping I need
I think maybe she classifies us. It's more like spoken word,
like poetry, but like singing or rapping, like she's the
bars are there forever.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
I mean, I love her opening.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
It's perfect and I had and I really like, I
had to really sit there and tell her, like you
have no idea how much this means to me and
how much just means to like everybody. We put the
track list up and people were like, Jill Scott let me.
And then to be able to like mix it with
Young Migo was also really cool to me because that's
just two worlds. At first, I was like, people are
(21:13):
gonna be like, what the hell you were.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Like crash, that's what that's the album. Absolutely, that's so funny.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
That's a really beautiful sex sexy song. I have to
ask you, like because even me listening to the album,
because when it came out on Friday, I listened to it.
Then I listened to it in a car because now
I'm sitting in traffic for hours every day.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
Because I'm moved.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
But so but it does give me an opportunity to
listen to music more, you know, because I used to
drive to work when I did mornings, it take me
fifteen minutes by the time I get there, and I
heard two songs that' said.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
But now I get to hear like a whole album
on the plus side.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Of things, and every single time, it would be something
different that I like the best. I love that now
for you, does that happen when you're listening to this
where you like, this is my favorite, like this is
my baby? Yeah, and then it switches up.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
They keep asking me what my favorite song is, and
it just it keeps changing, and I know even more
so it'll change as I'm performing them, and it'll change
as I like I'm meeting people and they're explaining like
what each song means to them. And every time we
made a new song and decided it was on the album.
It became my favorite song.
Speaker 1 (22:17):
How many songs did you do?
Speaker 3 (22:19):
Oh my god?
Speaker 1 (22:21):
So many?
Speaker 3 (22:22):
This album started as myself titled okay, so it was
supposed to be the Kailanie album, and I was like, man,
I have all these like really strong R and B
ideas that I want to do and things like that.
And then it just kept shape shifting and we kept
going to all these different cities and I kept like
being like, no, I want to challenge myself in this
way and I want to do this and I want
to do this, and it just took its own life,
(22:45):
like it really did, and we ended up naming the
album after the song crash was made.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Oh okay, so the is oka yeah yeah yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:51):
And then I don't know, nobody could. It was hard
to even decide what was coming out after after hours,
because after hours was obvious to all of us. We
were like, duh, this is a single, but we had
no idea what to come out next, because I didn't
know how to paint the picture of what this world
was going to be because it is crazy.
Speaker 1 (23:07):
Yeah, and it is.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
I mean, it's perfectly titled. I feel like, thank you
you ended up to lose my wife, which was an
interesting choice. And that's what makes me feel like, can
Kayleannie be in a relationship?
Speaker 3 (23:20):
I'm screaming, who knows? Can?
Speaker 2 (23:23):
I listening to that song, I was like, yeah, you
gotta go. Just the stuff that you were doing.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
The verse was very purposeful. I said, you know what
I have not. I have not written a classically toxic
Kai Lannie playful kind of trifling verse in a little
while on this project. And I just I slipped that
one in there. That was not a true story. Yeah,
that was not a true story. That was just a
me purposeful like I'm gonna say something cheeky because I
think people know I'm cheeky and that's their jams, So
(23:50):
I'm gonna just slide it in there.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Well, that came from somewhere, you know, I was gonna say.
Speaker 3 (23:54):
Deep in the subconscious.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
Yeah, So what about a tour? Now? What does a
tour look like for this? For this album?
Speaker 3 (24:00):
Oh my god, it's gonna be nuts. It's gonna be
so nuts. I have so many ideas. I made this
album specifically to tour. Okay, that's why there's so many sounds,
That's why the production was so important because I made
this specifically to have fun. I learned a lot on
my last tour touring a very like sweet and Light
and Airy album and maybe like the first two weeks
(24:20):
in we ended up playing majority of the album before
that because there was so much more energy on that one,
and you start realizing, like, what kind of world do
you want to cultivate in the space?
Speaker 2 (24:30):
That was a beautiful album too, though everything is just
so different.
Speaker 3 (24:33):
It's like you said, I hope I never make the
same album twice.
Speaker 2 (24:36):
And man, we definitely cannot put you in a box.
I love just having experience.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
You heard that here first, Thank you.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
But that is scary because most artists would be like,
and most labels will tell you, yeah, you have to
make this album because how are they gonna what genre
is it going to be in? But I feel like
streaming helps with people being able to stream singles and
so what's so? I guess after hours I hear that
all the time I was written this article about artists
(25:03):
and how they feel about streaming. What are your thoughts
about streaming?
Speaker 3 (25:06):
About streaming, honestly, I'm not like I really stay out
of the world of all that because so much has
been conflated with just things that I have no idea about,
like buying streams and placing things strategically here and how
this works and this works. And I will always say
impact matters more than you know anything anything in life.
(25:27):
You may have no idea. I this album may stream horrible,
this may sell horrible, this may place horrible. But when
you come to the show, the energy in the room
is probable. You know it's it is you walk away
with something crazy, people are gonna leave and be like,
what was that? People had such a great the shows
were so big on the last tour that people were like, oh,
I actually had no idea that this. Many people even
(25:49):
fucked with Kilnie like they had no idea. And I
think that it's I'm in a unique situation that I
never really take for granted because it isn't dependent on that.
I've always had such a strong bond with my fans,
where you see how they show up in the street
for me at the signing, you see how they come
on tour, you see how much it means to them,
and like that is the only thing that matters. I'm
super focused on that.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
How were the writers' camps for you? And for people listening,
like tell us some of the things that goes on
in these writers camps, Like you said you did one
here in New York, but then you traveled all over yeah,
and did different riding camps.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Like how does that help you? How does that inspire you?
Speaker 2 (26:24):
What are some things that went on during yours that
it's memorable to you.
Speaker 3 (26:27):
Well, basically, we started in San Diego. We went in
San Diego twice one at the beginn't want the end,
and I bonded so hard with what technically we started
in the Bay and then we went to San Diego.
But I ended up like kind of rocking with the
little group that we had formulated early on, and we
just kept like moving everybody. We did the Bay, we
did San Diego, we went to New York, we went
(26:50):
to Dominican Republic, we went to Vegas, we went back
to San Diego, and we just it happened on accident
because we started at a studio in the Bay and
like nothing was working, like like the equipment wasn't working,
like the studio engineer there was just it was like
thing after thing after thing. But we had already brought
everyone from LA and put them in hotels. So it
was like, what do we do? I said, you know what,
(27:11):
Let's just run a bunch of equipment. Let's set up
in a house, and let's put everybody in different rooms
and let everybody just cross walk around back and forth.
So I kept visiting each producer pocket in each room
and just being like, I like a little bit of that.
I like a little bit of that, let's mix it.
And I had really incredible collaborate collaborators. My A and
R is absolutely incredible. All of my producers are really incredible.
Everybody I wrote with this really incredible. And how much
(27:33):
we all ended up being able to genuinely say like
I love you guys as a family during this process,
to where celebrating the final studio sessions and playing the
album over and over and over again felt like this
thing that we all did. It didn't feel like my album.
It felt like, y'all, we made it here. My visual
team was sitting there putting up all these mood boards,
downloading millions of photos and going from the computer to
(27:54):
the kinks to printing it out and back and gluing
it on the wall, and everybody was so invested in
this process, and it just feels like one big familial
like gift and offering. Then it could ever feel like
that's it was the best?
Speaker 1 (28:09):
What do you listen to like outside so much?
Speaker 2 (28:12):
So curious, like when Kailani's in the gym working out,
is there a different playlist than when you're in the
car driving then when you're going surfing.
Speaker 3 (28:18):
Then I promise, I don't say this would be cool.
I say this to be that I'm a Pisce's moon.
I'm really delusional. But I listened to a lot of
classical in the gym. Wow, because it really makes you
like zone out. And something about the really turned like
h makes me a little like anxious, plus the pre workout,
so I have to find like a balance of something
that makes everything really cinematic. So I listened to a
(28:40):
lot of like classical. I listened to a lot of jazz.
I listened to a lot of Boston Nova. I listened
to a lot of Spanish music. I listened to rock.
I listen to a lot of like electronic, whatever genre
we consider like attament, Paula, there's so much. I listened
to rabbitlus to R and B.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
I don't I like music.
Speaker 3 (29:01):
I was in I was in a band for six
years in my life, so I'm very instrument led versus
like words or vocals.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
And then you also have an afrobeats artist. Yeah you know,
yeah om Ale, I love him, which is said, but
that didn't feel like an afrobeats vibe.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Like did you think it was?
Speaker 3 (29:17):
It didn't start as an afrobeks at all. There was
just like this crazy piano part. And then my A
and R, who's absolutely incredible, went to Guilty Beats, who
is and am a piano producer, and had him kind
of like put those classic A piano undertones like underneath
it to make it go that way, and then we
send it to him and he sent it back so
(29:39):
quickly and he actually did two versions for me, Like
he's He's incredible. We love him.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
I learned about h my piano from listening to Uncle Waffles.
Speaker 3 (29:46):
I love Uncle Waffles.
Speaker 2 (29:48):
I love Traveling really does open up your mind to
so much when it comes to music. And I can
tell from this album that you've been, you know, doing
a lot in different oh yeah places worldwide.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
Yeah sure, but I I think that's the beautiful thing
about it.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
I do definitely want to thank you for coming through.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
I know you got a lot that you have going on,
and I'm glad you can because I honestly I know
you before you were like interviews, you were kind of
off of it.
Speaker 1 (30:11):
But I'm glad that.
Speaker 3 (30:13):
No, we're good. We're in a good place.
Speaker 1 (30:14):
Okay, good, I'm glad.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
I'm happy to thank you because I was like, she
better come up here one day.
Speaker 3 (30:18):
Ah. No, I'm in a really good place.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
You seem like it. Thank you, So congratulations. Make su'all
y'all buy Crash, go get your record signed.
Speaker 3 (30:27):
Yea, and come to tour.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
Come to tour, but say stream it, but now we can.
Speaker 2 (30:30):
You know it still sounds weird when we say bye,
but make sure you go get it.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
And when where can people get information on the tour?
Speaker 3 (30:37):
The tour information is going to drop super soon. Just
stay just keep up times with all my different various
social media's it's all at Kailanie, and just get.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
A little scoop like, yeah, they're not gonna come soon,
don't worry.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
Okay, do we know where we're starting?
Speaker 3 (30:50):
Somewhere in the Midwest. I think I just found that out. Actually,
maybe like an hour ago there.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
We got a little spoiler.
Speaker 3 (30:57):
Yeah, come on, teasers.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
Well, thank y'all so well, thank you so much for
joining me, Kailani. And you know, I just love who
you are as a person, so I appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (31:05):
Thank you well,
Way Up With Angela Yee News
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